Yulin Ge1, Yongxia Zhou2, Hanzhang Lu3, Zhongwei Zhang2, Hina Jaggi2, Joseph Herbert4, Robert I. Grossman2
1Department of Radiology / Center for Biomedical Imaging , New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; 2Department of Radiology / Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; 3Advanced Imaging Research Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; 4Department of Neurology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
Using T2-relaxation-under-spin-tagging (TRUST) MRI, we have investigated venous sinus blood oxygenation (Yv) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2), an index of global oxygen consumption, in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We found significantly higher Yv (p<0.0001) and lower CMRO2 (p=0.003) in MS patients compared to age-matched normal controls, suggesting considerably decreased oxygen metabolism in MS. There was no statistical difference of global cerebral blood flow between the two groups. Our results of significant underutilization of oxygen in MS raise important questions regarding mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction and neurodegeneration of the disease.